Breathless, Percy’s started down the stairs, his old bones aching with every step. The house was silent, its creaky floorboards echoing with memories of a life long lived. Suki, his only friend these past many years, her back arched and irritated that she hadn’t been fed, weaved between his legs.
His stick slipped from his hand as his feet faltered. Before he could catch himself he tumbled, his frail body crashing painfully against the hard wooden steps. His head slammed against the railing, a sharp pain shooting through him as he came to a brutal stop at the bottom. Blood wept from a gash on his forehead, mixing with the dust that coated the floor.
Through his blurred vision, he saw Suki staring down from the top of the stairs. The cat’s golden eyes shimmered in the dim light, a strange stillness in the air between them.
Percy tried to move, but his body refused, a wave of helplessness crashing over him. The front door was six feet away and his phone upstairs.
His vision faded as he lay there, struggling for breath, the pain becoming distant.
Suki padded down the stairs, her soft paws silent against the wood. The cat approached Percy, her tongue flicking out to gently lick the blood from the old man’s skin and then nibble at the open wound.
Percy silently cursed. Suki had always been there, a quiet companion in his solitude. Now, it seemed, she would be there in his final moments, too.
Words: Richard Rooney
Illustration: A.I.
Flash Fiction 250
Flash Fiction 250 